The FIFA World Cup 2026 reached record television and digital audiences worldwide, with billions of video views across digital platforms, packed stadiums and unprecedented fan engagement, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said, describing the expanded 48-team tournament as a landmark success.

The data mentioned by FIFA chief and others doesn’t include figures from the final between Argentina and Spain.

According to a FIFA statement on July 18, more than 6.25 million spectators attended matches through the quarter-final stage, with stadium occupancy at 99.7 percent and average attendance of over 65,000 per game.

The tournament generated 20 billion video views across FIFA’s digital platforms, while Canada’s quarter-final run attracted an average audience of 5.4 million across linear television and streaming platforms, accounting for an 82.6 percent market share on linear channels and becoming the country’s most-watched FIFA World Cup match and biggest non-final broadcast on record.

In Mexico, the Round of 16 match against England drew an average audience of 36 million across Televisa and Azteca, making it the country’s most-watched FIFA World Cup match of the 21st century.

FIFA also said its social media footprint expanded significantly during the tournament, with the organisation becoming the world’s most-followed sports account with 80 million followers.

FIFA had tied up with YouTube for the promotion of the 2026 edition of the World Cup.

The tournament added 10 million new FIFA ID registrations, including 2.7 million from the three host nations, while FIFA Rewards attracted 3.1 million members.

‘Inside FIFA’ recorded 17 million visitors during the group stage, 22.6 million during the round of 32 and 26.5 million during the round of 16, almost 180 percent higher than during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Highlighting the scale of operations, FIFA said tournament and broadcast networks transported 13 million gigabytes of data, with more than one billion cyber threats blocked.

Around 43,328 volunteers from 162 countries and territories supported the event, while 5,230 accredited media representatives attended the tournament, checking into stadiums more than 33,000 times.

“This FIFA World Cup has united fans worldwide in ways never seen before,” Infantino said, adding that the tournament had set new benchmarks not only on the pitch but also across digital engagement, fan experiences and operational delivery.

He said the figures reflected the scale and global impact of the first-ever 48-team FIFA World Cup.

FIFA said the tournament also recorded strong engagement beyond football, with the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Album surpassing 575 million streams across digital platforms, while the official song topped multiple global music charts.

Referring to the anticipated revenues generated by the tournament as part of the entire 2023-2026 cycle, the FIFA President, during a breakfast meeting of member-associations (MA) on July 18, said, “I think we can top the USD 15 billion mark”, thus providing football’s world governing body with unprecedented resources to put at the disposal of its members.

“I think I can say that this FIFA World Cup here in particular has opened a lot of doors, a lot of opportunities, a lot of possibilities,” he told MA representatives at a meeting in New York, USA, on the eve of the FIFA World Cup 2026 final.

“This will have an impact on what we can do all over the world, but the revenues and the financial economic success come only if the sporting side is right. If we do the right thing from a sporting point of view,” he added, though this WC, according to critics, was one of the most politically polarised tournaments.

FIFA Moderates 53+mn SM Posts: FIFA’s positive social impact initiatives throughout the tournament continue to leave a lasting legacy, with efforts focused on countering discriminatory abuse, expanding access to quality education and promoting healthy lifestyles for children.

FIFA’s Social media Protection Services (SMPS), a digital shield available to all teams, coaches, players and officials participating in FIFA tournaments, has kicked away more than 7 million potentially harmful posts and comments since the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on 11 June, a 14-fold increase on the FIFA World Cup 2022, when 470,000 such posts and comments were removed.

FIFA has also actioned and reported over 200,000 abusive and threatening posts and comments, compared to 19,600 at Qatar 2022

Across the FIFA World Cup 2026, the FIFA SMPS team have reviewed and assessed more than half a million AI-detected messages targeted at players, coaches and officials.

Over 15,000 of these have been escalated for additional action, and more than 1,000 egregious threats have been passed to the relevant authorities, including Law Enforcement. The service has also moderated more than 53 million posts and comments since the tournament began.

FIFA has also continued its efforts to counter hate speech in football, with this year’s No Racism campaign focusing on raising awareness around racial and discriminatory abuse.

With the key call to action, ‘Listen, Stand Up, Show Up’, the campaign encouraged fans and players to listen to the stories of those targeted, act when abuse occurs, and remain active allies in the fight against racism.

To mark the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, FIFA, TikTok and the City of Atlanta convened an elite group of players, policymakers, technology experts and community leaders at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights for the Stop Hate, Protect Football thought leadership event.

The fight against discrimination was also highlighted during the four matches played on June 18, when teams exchanged special commemorative pennants and stadium LED boards promoted the message. On social media, content around the No Racism campaign generated over 1 billion views.